


El Mayarah

by InRaosLight



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Kara should know better than keeping secrets, Kryptonian traditions, Relationship Reveal, she doesn’t have the best track record
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-06-12 05:46:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15333123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InRaosLight/pseuds/InRaosLight
Summary: Blowing out her powers never happens at a convenient time. Outside Cat’s office as she’s being tossed towards the glass windows? The least convenient timing possible. While Cat is standing on the other side of that window? Obviously the universe hates her...





	El Mayarah

**Author's Note:**

  * For [giantessmess](https://archiveofourown.org/users/giantessmess/gifts).



Explaining to your secret agent sister that yet another person knows your secret identity is never pleasant. Especially when that sister is as protective as Alex Danvers. And double especially when the person in question is someone like Cat Grant.

She’d been intending to tell Alex soon, maybe at their next sister night. If they could keep those evenings from being interrupted by the latest threats. She hadn’t intended for her sister to find out she was also dating her former boss like this. This was definitely never part of the plan.

Unfortunately that argument doesn’t seem to be working too well for her at the moment, nor does “I didn’t  _ ask _ to be thrown through a glass window right after burning out my powers!”

It strikes Kara as ridiculously unfair all around, because surely she’s entitled to at least a little care and concern for her wellbeing after what she’s been through today.

Instead she’s had to deal with Alex poking and prodding at her in the DEO medbay for hours now, and at this point Kara has had enough. Sometimes too much is just too much.

“Enough,” she says firmly, interrupting as Alex explains the next test she wants to run. It’s not as effective on her sister as it would be on any of the other medics, but Kara tries anyway. “You’ve run a dozen different scans and tests already, and none of the anomalies are serious or concerning. So please, Alex. I’m tired and sore, please just let me go home and rest.”

“Just because they aren’t immediately concerning doesn’t mean they aren’t serious or dangerous.” Alex doesn’t fold, hands on her hips as she stares Kara down, ignoring the rest of the room. “And the anomalies aren’t just on  _ your _ scans, we’re finding the same readings in Cat’s results. So until we know what can affect Kryptonians  _ and _ humans you can sit down and let us work.”

Kara gives in far faster than Alex, falling back onto the sunbed and extending her arm from whatever new test her sister wants to run now. At least this bed is more comfortable than the desert base…

“I see she sulks when you scold her too,” Cat pipes up from her own med station. 

She’d been far more patient than Kara, strangely enough. But then again, the DEO had the good meds and having a powerless Kryptonian and half a glass wall on you was enough to cause some serious pain. And as stubborn as Cat could be, she wasn’t a big fan of ruining a good thing without strong reasons.

“Been scolding her often, have you?” Alex fires back, voice harsh. She still isn’t dealing well with Cat knowing, with Cat dating her sister. 

It’s why Kara had been waiting for a quiet night with just the two of them before she’d told her. She’d hoped that with time to process the news Alex wouldn’t take it quite this badly. Instead her luck seems to have run out, and her sister learned the truth not because Kara told her, but because she’d heard Kara’s gasped “dammit, you’re not leaving my girlfriend to a regular doctor when an alien hurt her, so load Cat into the chopper now!”

“Not recently, other than when she eats the last of Carter’s cereal,” Cat answers, seeming unbothered by Alex’s tone. She’s not, Kara can see as much from here, but she’s a past master of pretending everything is fine. Her mask will hold until they’re alone, until comforting words can be shared without an audience looking to judge their every move.

“That was one time,” Kara protests, trying to lighten the mood in the room. “One time, and I flew out and replaced the entire stash before he noticed.”

Alex looks almost amused, and Kara knows they’ll win her over eventually. She’s probably just upset that she’d found out like this, which Kara fully understands. Her usual fear for Kara’s safety, already doubled any time the hero solar flares, means any additional emotional upheavals are too much.

The sisters bicker for a few more minutes as Cat occasionally interjects a comment or two, and the tension in the room gradually eases. It’s not perfect, but it’s enough that Kara begins to think this won’t be too bad after all. And then she has an idea.

“Alex, can I at least take a lap around the floor to stretch my legs?” It’s an excuse, but Kara thinks it’s a pretty good one. She’s always antsy without her powers, always missing the thrum of energy that usually runs through her veins, and always cold without the heat of Sol’s light powering her.  A quick run helps with all of those things.

It also has the benefit of leaving Alex and Cat alone for the first time in a controlled environment, with medics constantly in and out of the room to curb the worst of Alex’s protective instincts. There’s a definite time limit, because Alex knows exactly how long a depowered Kara takes to make a lap and will come looking for her if she isn’t back soon after that. And best of all, it means the first conversation will occur while Cat has the protection of some really good pain meds to dull the worst of her anxiety and potential defensiveness.

It’s not ideal, but nothing about this situation is and Kara doesn’t want to risk feelings and worries being buried for too long. They’re too likely to bubble up at the worst time later. Better to get it all out now.

Alex looks conflicted for a moment before Dr Hamilton chimes in with a “sounds like a great idea, Kara. Just don’t overdo it.”

After that her hands are tied, unable to contradict the actual medic in charge of Kara’s well being without some kind of scientific proof from the tests she’s running as well. And since her tests have so far come back empty, she’s got nothing.

“Don’t take too long,” she says instead, looking at Kara with narrowed eyes. “No stopping by Jarrett’s desk to raid his candy supply, just a quick lap around the floor and then right back here.”

“Just a quick lap,” Kara promises, sliding out of bed with a bounce that has Alex glaring. A glare she ignores completely as she crosses the short distance to where Cat is still being examined, leaning down to press a gentle kiss to her forehead and then her lips. “I promise I won’t leave you alone with her for too long,” she whispers when the kiss ends, pulling back just enough to smile at her girlfriend.

“Better now, while I’ve got the meds,” Cat murmurs back, her gaze knowing. They know each other so well by now, able to pick up on motivations and plans without a word being said, and Kara relaxes knowing Cat is on board with her idea. 

So with another smile and a quick “be nice,” that’s directed at both Alex and Cat, Kara sets out on her way.

She’s two hallways over when the first feelings of lightheadedness hit, and Kara stops a moment to decide whether she should head back before shaking her head to clear it and continues on. It’s probably just a reaction to being up after sitting for so long.

Four hallways over and the nausea hits, strong enough to send Kara to her knees as she fights to keep from losing the contents of her stomach. Now she knows this isn’t okay, that she needs to get back, but she can’t move without making things worse. All Kara can do is sit there and wait for Alex to realize something is wrong.

It doesn’t take as long as she’d expect, barely a minute passes before the sound of boots echoes to where she’s kneeling, and then Alex’s arms are pulling her up into a familiar hold as they move back towards the medbay at a fast trot.

With every step Alex takes Kara feels better, her nausea subsiding as her head quits spinning. By the time they make it back to the medbay she’s ready to be on her own feet, but of course Alex doesn’t budge, carrying her all the way to the hospital bed and setting her on it without single bit of help from Kara.

“How did you know?” Kara asks when she’s settled, her head clear enough to think once more. “You shouldn’t have been looking for me for at least another five minutes.”

She really hadn’t made it far, and unless she’d lost track of a lot of time while she’d been struggling with her stomach Alex shouldn’t have known. There was no reason for Winn to be monitoring her constantly, no reason for her collapse to draw notice as quickly as it had.

“Cat felt something,” Alex starts, and that’s all Kara hears as she jumps to her feet, ignoring the hands Alex reaches out to keep her in place. If Cat felt something, Kara needs to make sure she’s okay now.

“Relax, darling,” Cat says as Kara crosses the medbay to her side. “I’m fine now, I promise.”

“But you weren’t fine before?” Kara asks, wishing she had her powers back so she could hear Cat’s heartbeat. So she could use all of her enhanced senses to be sure Cat was okay. As it is all she can do is scan the various monitors, searching for anything out of the ordinary. “Alex, what happened?”

“Kara, calm down. Cat was okay, she didn’t collapse like you did.” Alex is soothing, standing at Kara’s side but not moving to pull her away. For all her earlier upset about their relationship, Alex knows how protective Kara gets about those she cares about. And right now, whether Alex has fully accepted it or not, that includes Cat.

“I felt lightheaded, but I knew it wasn’t me,” Cat explains. She’s reached out and grabbed Kara’s hands in her own, holding them in her lap so Kara feels connected. “I told Alex to find you, and she did.”

“There were a few abnormal readings, but Cat’s vitals were fine the whole time,” Alex adds, and Kara nods her thanks. She trusts Cat and the connection is helping reassure the worry that’s still present, but the concrete facts from Alex help too.

“It got worse, the further I got,” Kara tells Alex, knowing that’s a significant fact that definitely impacts what her sister will need to research.

She wasn’t expecting that research to include Alex testing it for herself, carrying Kara out of the medbay herself as Kara holds a video screen to monitor how Cat reacts. Dr. Hamilton is watching each of their vitals carefully, recording and analysing every change as it happens.

This time Kara feels the lightheadedness earlier, now that she’s looking for it. And as she does, Dr. Hamilton speaks up from where she’s studying the readouts. “Supergirl and Miss Grant are both starting to show symptoms, though only Supergirl’s are manifesting in a physical reaction. It’s strange, from the readings we’re getting on this end, both of them should be reacting.”

Alex hums thoughtfully and starts returning to the medbay, clearly deep in thought. “Okay, new plan. Kara, you stay here and I take Cat on the same path we just took. If the same thing or the reverse happens, we have J’onn come take you in one direction while I take Cat in the other.”

Kara wants to argue, wants to refuse to do anything that might risk Cat, but she knows that isn’t possible right now. Not if they want to find a solution to whatever is going on. As it is, at least Alex’s plan keeps the risk under control. And really, even if she wanted to put her foot down and insist they weren’t risking Cat’s well being, she knows Cat would veto her decision.

Cat Grant was many things, but afraid of a challenge was not one of them. And knowing that Kara was even just potentially in danger would be enough. She’d never back down and refuse a little risk if it meant someone else might be hurt, especially someone she cared about.

The only argument from Cat is about whether Alex will be carrying her. Even the fact the government agent had just been carrying Supergirl through the same hallways wasn’t enough to persuade her, and eventually Kara had to step in.

“She can get you back here faster without the wheelchair if something happens,” Kara points out, her words even but her eyes pleading with Cat. If they are going to risk this, then Kara wants to do everything possible to minimize the chances Cat will be hurt. And Kara knows that there’s no safer place for Cat than with Alex.

“You owe me for this,” Cat says with promise laced in every word, but quietly enough the other can’t hear. It’s a moot point when the sensors Kara’s still connected to all go off and her face is redder than her cape.

“Why don’t you let me give you two a clean bill of health before you try to scar me?” Alex mutters from the other side of the room, making Kara’s blush deepen as Cat just smirks.

“Think of it as an incentive to hurry,” she says, giving Kara a wink as she walks to the door and Alex’s side. “The sooner I’m back on my own two feet, the better.”

Alex seems to agree, scooping Cat into a secure hold and shooting Kara a reassuring look before heading out the door. And just like before when she’d done the same with Kara, it doesn’t take long for symptoms to start.

But this time it’s different, Kara doesn’t feel light headed the same way she did before. The sensation is still there, but removed a bit as if coming from outside her. And somehow she knows instinctively that this is what Cat is feeling.

“Alex, I’m feeling it,” she calls out just as Dr Hamilton echoes her statement, noting that the readings are the same as before.

“The same as before?” Alex says as she immediately turns back towards the medbay, Cat looking a bit pale in her arms.

“No, I think I’m feeling Cat this time,” Kara says as she fights to keep from running out the door to ease what Cat is feeling. Alex will be back soon enough, the last thing they need is for her to slip in the hallway and add to the problem.

“Alright, then Dr Hamilton you should page J’onn and have him meet us for the next test,” Alex says, walking through the door with Cat. This time she doesn’t settle the woman back in her own bed, instead setting her down next to where Kara is sitting and letting them have a moment.

“I’m sorry,” Kara apologizes once Alex is across the room. “I don’t know what’s going on, but it has to be related to that alien. I should have protected you better.”

“Oh, hush.” Cat doesn’t look impressed by the apology, but her eyes are soft and loving anyway. “This isn’t your fault, Kara. It was never your fault. You did everything you could, even blew out your powers, trying to protect me. And we’ll probably have a conversation about that at some point, but for now the important thing to remember is that you did manage to save me. Me, and everyone at CatCo who would have been killed as well.”

The words help, as Cat’s words always do, and Kara lets herself sink into the warmth of slender arms wrapped around her as she rests her head on Cat’s shoulder to soak the moment of closeness in.

The moment is broken when J’onn walks in, but the second test goes quickly. When they both leave the medbay and head in different directions, the symptoms are worse and felt by both. When they both leave the medbay and go in the same direction, they feel nothing.

“So it’s physical separation, and the one leaving feels the strain most,” Alex summarizes when they’ve resettled into her lab with medical gear scattered around the room. “Onset after Kara blew out her powers fighting an alien, but that species has no history of creating or inducing psychic or physiological bonds in members of any species.”

The words start to niggle at Kara as she thinks about what her sister is saying, and half remembered lines from the ancient stories of her planet. Stories and legends, and so much Kara wishes she knew about her history. What she remembers isn’t enough to help them.

It’s time to talk to her mother.

xXxXxXxXx

Cat doesn’t bother hiding her interest as Kara leads the group into her mother’s AI room, and Kara wishes suddenly that this was under better circumstances. That her mother was actually here, that they weren’t trying to figure out the after effects of an alien attack, that any part of this was normal. Even as normal as the life of a superpowered alien could be.

But this is what she’s got, and Kara’s an old pro at pushing aside disappointments. Maybe this is just a hologram, but it’s still a piece of her planet she can share with Cat, a side of her history that shaped who she is today.

“Good afternoon, Kara,” Alura says when they’ve entered the room and activated the hologram. “How can I be of assistance?”

“Blood bonds us all,” Kara says, hearing Alex inhale sharply as she starts to put the pieces together. “That’s not just a saying, is it?”

“No, my daughter. In the earliest days of Krypton, when we were little more than warring tribes, our people found a way to set aside differences and unite under the guidance of Rao. Leading members of each tribe would be bound to another, creating the foundations of our Houses and establishing unity on Krypton. Through the bonding of our blood, we became one people.”

Alura’s tone is even, uncurious. Stating facts and nothing more. But it’s enough to remind Kara of her lessons, of what the histories of her people could mean for her today. If the ancient Kryptonians had shared blood and been bound by it, was it possible the same happened when she’d crashed into Cat?

True, it hadn’t been a ceremony. There hadn’t been any call for Rao to witness, or any intent behind the action. But they were already involved, already together. The emotions were there, even if they hadn’t yet put them into words. And maybe that was enough.

“So, when you and the glass crashed into me, I’m assuming our blood bonded?” Cat asks in a no nonsense tone, looking between Kara and the hologram with a shrewd expression. “That doesn’t explain why leaving makes us sick.”

“Our people were a hot blooded people in the youth of our planet,” Alura answers before Kara can explain. “The bonding was permanent, but it took time to set. Disruption of the bond in the first few days would cause great discomfort. Rao knew our tempers, and gave us this incentive to work through the often contentious beginnings of each union.”

“What would happen if you bonded by accident?” Kara asks, trying to keep her voice level. She hadn’t done this on purpose, but it still felt like her fault.

Even in hologram form Alura seems confused by the question, a small frown appearing on her face. “There were no accidents. Merely sharing blood was not enough to form a bond. Those joining were focused on the protection of their people and loved ones, steadfast in their decision to care for and support all members of their tribe through the sharing of responsibilities and duties. A bonding could not occur between the unwilling.”

That made Kara feel a little better, but this was still a lot to take in. And even if Cat loved her, even if Cat was willing on some level to join their ‘responsibilities and duties’ that didn’t mean she’d expected this.

“I have to admit, this isn’t how I imagined your proposal going,” Cat says with a wry twist to her lips, breaking through Kara’s mounting confusion and panic.

“You- you imagined me proposing?”

“A time or two.” The dismissive wave speaks volumes, and Kara knows it hadn’t been as fleeting a thought as Cat is pretending.

“Look, you two obviously have a lot to talk about,” Alex interjects, shutting off the hologram as she goes to leave. “I’ll get J’onn to play Supergirl for a few days to let you adjust and talk this out. And then, Kara, you and I are having the sister night of all sister nights to talk about this.”

All Kara can manage is a nod for her sister, still focused on what Cat had admitted and how it fits with what her mother had told them. 

“You know, my proposal would have been a lot more romantic than flying through a glass window at you,” Kara says once the door shuts behind her sister. “Flowers, dinner, a lot less immediate danger from dustructive aliens…”

In any other circumstances this would have been too soon, but Kara has to admit they’ve been together a lot longer than they’ve actually been dating. And apparently an ancient Kryptonian ritual had decided to speed up the timeline.

“You still have a chance for all that. Just because we’ve already had a Kryptonian wedding doesn’t mean we can’t have an Earth wedding as well,” Cat says, stepping closer to Kara and pulling her in for a quick kiss. “We can even take our time for that one.”

“For now, I think we have plenty to talk about,” Kara points out, because she knows as soon as the shock wears off they’ll both have plenty to say about what had happened, plenty to decide and discuss.

“That’s later,” Cat says, leaning back in Kara’s embrace with a wicked smirk on her face. “You wouldn’t want to skip the honeymoon, would you?”


End file.
